


All the way to the end

by oscarlovesthesea



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: 177 coda, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Yearning, as usual, extremely wacky pathfinder mechanics, is this a marriage proposal? maybe!, me realising that Zolf actually has the Shield Other spell: it's free real estate!, well i'm not sure if it's fluff but there's definitely some kind of soft emotion there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:00:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27776509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oscarlovesthesea/pseuds/oscarlovesthesea
Summary: Wilde smiles, his brow furrowed, and Zolf’s heart contracts painfully in his chest.“Listen, I’ve got – the reason I’m here, I want-” He cuts himself off, takes a deep breath, and tries again. “I’d like to increase our chances of going on that holiday.”Wilde’s eyebrows shoot up. “Alright,” he says slowly, “I’m listening.”*Or, Zolf has loads of hit points and would like to protect his squishy bard.
Relationships: Zolf Smith/Oscar Wilde
Comments: 22
Kudos: 130





	All the way to the end

**Author's Note:**

> I felt like I was legally obliged to write a coda to 177, so here we go. Title is from My Sweet Refuge by Roo Panes, which really has those sweet sweet Zoscar vibes.   
> As usual, thank you to Enea, my wonderful beta reader and friend. You can find him at [grassboy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/grassboy/pseuds/grassboy) on ao3 and [jimmymagma](https://twitter.com/jimmymagma) on twitter. I love you, bud.

They do end up finishing their drinks, even after all of that. After Zolf has reached the bottom of his glass, Wilde looks up at him, a small smile on his face.

“I think it’s time, isn’t it?”

In the same way Zolf knew where to find Wilde, he knows he is right.

“Yeah,” he breathes out.

“Alright, then.” Wilde reaches out, taking Zolf’s hand in his. “I will see you soon, Zolf.”

Wilde’s smile is the last thing Zolf sees before everything goes white.

*

When he comes to he finds he’s still kneeling by Wilde’s side. Wilde is still lying in front of him, but he is encased in ice, a small layer of frost covering his entire body.

“Wilde?” He asks, unsure. When he looks up, he finds that the others have all gone, and he is alone with the attendants. The sky outside has gotten dark, and the amphitheatre is illuminated by torches.

“Any second now,” one of the attendants says, stepping forward.

When Zolf looks back down at Wilde, he finds that the frost is getting brighter, to the point that looking at it almost hurts. And then, in a flash of light, it is gone, leaving only Wilde. The wound on his chest has stitched itself back together, leaving behind no trace of its presence. His hair has gone snow white.

“Hey,” Zolf says, slowly.

For a second, nothing happens. Then Wilde’s eyebrows flutter, and his mouth opens as he takes a deep breath.

“Hey,” he says, opening his eyes, his mouth forming a smile when his gaze settles on Zolf. “Well, that was eventful,” he adds, pulling himself up. “Remind me to wear safety gear the next time our ship is about to crash.” His hair falls in front of his eyes as he speaks, and before he can think any better of it, Zolf leans forward and tucks it back.

Wilde goes very still under his touch. “What is it?” He asks, his eyes narrowed.

“Sorry, uhm,” Zolf says, clearing his throat. For some reason, he doesn’t move his hand from where it’s resting in Wilde’s hair. “It’s just, we – we match?”

Wilde huffs out a laugh at that, his eyes glinting in the moonlight. He leans forward ever so slightly, getting closer to Zolf.

Zolf swallows, searching for words.

And then, Zolf hears a door slam open, and suddenly a tiny mass is jumping on him and Wilde, wrapping them in a hug.

“We were so worried!” Hamid says, not letting go of either of them. “The others got back  _ hours  _ ago!”

“We’re alright, Hamid,” Zolf tries to say, when another pair of arms comes around them, and then Zolf sort of loses count of how many people are joining in the hug.

“I hope you didn’t have too much fun without me,” Wilde says from somewhere in the tangle of limbs. “They do say I’m the life of the party.”

As everyone groans in annoyance without letting go of the hug, for the first time since the crash, Zolf lets himself breathe.

*

To no one’s shock or surprise, the secret city built on the giant bear does not have an inn, but they are still shown to different rooms in a big wooden building next to the theatre where they performed the ritual. When Hamid asks, Sohra simply says that they like to be ready for guests.

Zolf spends longer than necessary going through everything in his bag of holding, looking for something he bought back in Hiroshima, which now feels like a lifetime ago. He loses time by tidying up the bits and pieces that have just been sort of scattered around the bag, until eventually he gives in and takes out the platinum rings out of the small velvet bag he’d been carrying them in. He fidgets with them for a few minutes, running his fingers along the smooth, cold metal. He’s being stupid, he knows. This does  _ not _ have to be a big deal.

He sighs and gets himself out of his room, heading down the corridor to Wilde’s. He takes a deep breath at the door, then knocks, and before Zolf can turn around and leave, Wilde invites him to come in.

Wilde’s room looks very much like Zolf’s, small and wooden. Wilde is sitting on the bed, shockingly and miraculously alive, scribbling on a notebook in his lap, but he closes it and sets it aside when Zolf comes in.

“Hello, Zolf,” Wilde says, his grey eyes piercing through him. He pats the bed next to him.

“You alright?” Zolf asks as he takes a seat.

“Yes, actually,” Wilde says, sounding almost surprised. “But then again, death is usually worse for those left behind.”

Zolf stares at him, brow furrowed.

“Sorry, that’s – that was me trying to ask how  _ you _ are.”

“Yeah, alright,” Zolf says, and then he’s not really sure what to say anymore.

They stay silent for a good handful of seconds.

“So…” Wilde says, eventually. “Things got a bit heated back there.”

“Yeah,” Zolf exhales. And then he adds, in a rush, “I’m sorry I didn’t say earlier, I just – I just didn’t want to make your decision about me.”

Wilde shakes his head, pursing his lips.

“Of course it was bound to be about you,” he says. “I needed… I needed to know that this,” he gestures between the two of them, “was not just me imagining things.”

“You’re not,” Zolf cuts in. “Imagining things. You’re not.”

Wilde smiles, his brow furrowed, and Zolf’s heart contracts painfully in his chest.

“Listen, I’ve got – the reason I’m here, I want-” He cuts himself off, takes a deep breath, and tries again. “I’d like to increase our chances of going on that holiday.”

Wilde’s eyebrows shoot up. “Alright,” he says slowly, “I’m listening.”

Zolf clears his throat. “There is this spell,” he starts, “and it would let me take on, uhm – it’d let me take on part of your damage. If you get hurt, you won’t get hurt as badly.” He lets the words out in a rush, looking nowhere on Oscar’s right.

Wilde sighs. “Zolf, I’m not going to put you in danger.” He says, his tone firm.

“You wouldn’t, though,” Zolf argues, because it’s not like he didn’t expect Wilde to put up a fight. “I can take on much more than you can, Wilde, you know that.”

“You are also in danger much more frequently than I am.”

“Yeah, okay, but, again, I can take it.”

Wilde opens his mouth to argue, but Zolf cuts him off. “Look, Wilde, I’m not forcing you to do anything, it’s just-” he looks down, gives himself a moment to gather his thoughts. “I  _ found  _ you, Wilde. And I don’t really want to feel like I felt then ever again, so, you know. I thought I’d ask.”

Wilde’s brow furrows as he looks at him, his eyes dark. “Are you sure about this?” He asks.

“You know I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t.”

Wilde nods, slowly. “Alright,” he says.

“Really?” Zolf asks, surprised.

“What did I just say?”

“Kinda thought it would take more convincing.”

“No, it’s-” Wilde rubs his eyes. He looks tired, and small. “You make a good point.” He looks back at Zolf, raising an eyebrow. “So how does this work?”

Zolf takes the rings out of his pocket. “We both wear these,” he says. “And then I enchant them.”

At that, Wilde’s face opens into a smile, and he genuinely laughs.

“Zolf, if you wanted to ask for my hand in marriage, you could just have said so.”

“Oh, shut up,” Zolf says, feeling his face grow hot. Then he adds, because he’s done with pretending he doesn’t need – he doesn’t  _ want _ – Wilde in his life, “Once we’re done with all of this, maybe.”

“Oh, alright,” Wilde says, a glint of mischief in his eyes. “Promise rings, then.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Zolf says evenly, and he can’t help but smile when Wilde’s cheeks go a bit red at that.

Wilde clears his throat. “Shall we?”

Zolf starts by slipping a ring onto his own ring finger, then gently, he takes Wilde’s hand, and he doesn’t miss the way Wilde’s breath catches when he slips the ring onto his finger. He takes a moment to collect himself and the rings grow warmer under his touch.

“There you go,” he whispers, but doesn’t let go of Wilde’s hand.

“Zolf,” Wilde says slowly. “I know we… I know we are waiting until it’s all over, but,” he purses his lips. “If you don’t mind, there is something I’d like to do first.”

He has gotten very close. Breathlessly, Zolf nods, and ever so slowly, Wilde leans forward, until his lips touch Zolf’s. It’s a soft kiss, as light as butterfly’s wings, but when Wilde pulls back, an open question in his eyes, Zolf just shakes his head and kisses him again, more fiercely.

For a while, he takes time to lose himself in the warmth of Wilde’s lips and the softness of his hair and the gentleness of his hands, taking in the man he has promised his future to.

**Author's Note:**

> So, Zolf actually does have the Shield Other spell (*squints at Ben Meredith*), and I messed with it a little bit to make it even more romantic than it already is. For the record, if Zolf does end up using Shield Other on Wilde, I'm taking it as a sign that Apollo has granted me the gift of prophecy but like, only when RQG is concerned.  
> As usual, you can find me on twitter as [oscarlovesthsea](https://twitter.com/oscarlovesthsea). Come shout in Zoscar with me please. Or you know, you can leave me a comment here. That's neat too.   
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
